Study: Fructose Doesn't Appear to Be Any Worse than Glucose

Posted: February 3, 2014

A recent scientific study has revealed that although fructose may increase total cholesterol, uric acid, and postprandial triglycerides in isocaloric replacement for glucose, it does not appear to be any worse than glucose in its effects on other aspects of the lipid profile, insulin or markers of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

The study, which was published in the scientific journal Current Opinion in Lipidology, said fructose may also have important advantages over glucose for body weight, glycemic control and blood pressure.

"Depending on the cardiometabolic endpoint in question, fructose has variable effects when replacing glucose. In the absence of clear evidence of net harm, there is no justification to replace fructose with glucose in the diet," the study noted.

The study said 15 trials involving 312 participants have investigated the effect of fructose in isocaloric replacement for glucose on body weight.

"Pooled analyses did not provide evidence of an adverse effect of fructose on body weight. On the contrary, fructose in isocaloric exchange with glucose showed a significant reduction in body weight with no evidence of significant heterogeneity," it said.